Violinist William Hilbrink plays “The Lord’s Prayer” April 25 in the sanctuary of the Fairfax United Methodist Church while associate pastor Amy Grant kneels at the altar to pray for victims and survivors of the terrorist bombings in Sri Lanka Easter Sunday. Photo by Marti Moore/The Connection
A church in the City of Fairfax opened its sanctuary doors Thursday evening to locals who wanted to pay their respects to more than 250 people killed and at least 500 survivors injured Easter Sunday from the terrorist bombings in Sri Lanka.
"We had the luxury of worshipping in peace," said lead pastor Rev. David J. Bonney, who also led an Easter service at sunrise April 21 in the Old Town Square at North Street and University Drive.
"Our sisters and brothers in Sri Lanka did not."
More than 25 people participated in the April 25 prayer vigil in the Fairfax United Methodist Church at 10300 Stratford Ave.
The simple half-hour service featured music to undergird the prayers of a congregation reluctantly growing accustomed to attending a vigil there at least once a year following a mass violence event that shatters the complacency of Americans and their neighbors around world.
Prayers Thursday included Scripture readings, call-and-response, and quiet reflection.
Bonney embarks on two or three missionary trips a year to Honduras — where thousands of residents frightened by crime, political corruption and bad economic conditions embark on the journey through Guatemala and Mexico to the United States.
Bonney says his driver has a contingency plan to stuff the minister in the trunk of the car and drive him to the nearest U.S. Air Force base if desperate times ever call for desperate measures.
In the nine years he has visited Central America, Bonney has not ridden in that trunk.
"It's always good to have a Plan B," he points out.
Long-time FUMC member John Smith attended the April 25 prayer service with his wife and was struck by the horrific nature of so many people in Sri Lanka killed and wounded by the coordinated attacks.
"It's not just one family," Smith notes, "it's a vast multitude of people." His main concern is the welfare of the children who witnessed the atrocities and lost their parents.